Peter Mansbridge, field reporter

The Story

A controversial land sale near Portage la Prairie, Man., in 1971 has drawn concern from local residents. This clip, about the prospect of a new Hutterite colony in the rural municipality of Macdonald, is one of the earliest known clips in the CBC Television archive of Peter Mansbridge, the future chief correspondent and anchor of The National. It was never aired.

Did You know?

• Peter Mansbridge was recruited to work for CBC Radio after a producer heard him making announcements in the airport in Churchill, Man., in 1968. He worked in radio for three years before moving to CBC Television in Winnipeg and later in Saskatchewan. In 1976, he moved to Ottawa after being named a parliamentary correspondent for The National.

• CBC promoted Mansbridge to chief correspondent and anchor of The National in 1988, after Knowlton Nash stepped down in a bid to keep Mansbridge from leaving Canadian journalism. Mansbridge turned down a competing offer for substantially more money from an American broadcaster to stay and take on CBC Television's top on-air news job.

• Mansbridge has won 12 Gemini Awards and has been presented with several honourary degrees from universities in Canada and the U.S.A.

• On May 2, 2013, Mansbridge celebrated his 25th anniversary as anchor of The National; in September 2016 he announced his intention to step down from the job as of July 1, 2017.